The St. Louis Cardinals made Daniel Descalso the highest Aggie drafted in the MLB draft. (Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise)

June 7, 2007

DAVIS, Calif. -
UC Davis third baseman Daniel Descalso was selected by the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals with the 112th pick in the third round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Descalso, a junior from San Carlos, becomes the highest Aggie taken in the draft, surpassing Justin Reid, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1999. He is only one of six UC Davis players to be selected in the top 10 rounds and is the first Aggie to be drafted since Ryan Coultas went in the sixth round in 2004 to the New York Mets.

"He proved this season that he's a great all-around player and now he has a chance to prove himself on the next level," said Aggie head coach Rex Peters. "He's worked hard to get where he is now and I think he's ready to take that next step. It's also great for our program to have a player drafted this high."

This season Descalso put up some of the best all-around numbers in the history of the program as his .397 batting average, 92 hits and 22 doubles rank second all-time. Descalso also led the team in almost every offensive category, which included 44 RBIs, 132 total bases, 35 walks, a .474 on-base percentage and a .569 slugging percentage. For his efforts, Descalso was named to the All-Independent First Team.

UC Davis finished its final year of reclassification to NCAA Division I status this season with an overall record of 24-32. The Aggies become official members of the Big West Conference next season.